


Interlude

by bittersweetmelodie



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 14:39:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetmelodie/pseuds/bittersweetmelodie
Summary: The space of time between the battle at Haven and their departure for Atlas involves a lot of tears, a lot of anger, and a lot of happiness.





	Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really like this much, but it's been sitting in my WIP folder forever now, and I just want to get it out of my face, so have some word vomit.

Yang studies Weiss as she talks to Team JNR, making sure that the three of them are okay – of course _Weiss_ would be worried about everybody else when _she_ was the one who nearly died. It still feels like a dream to her – watching Weiss come back from the brink of death the way that she did was nothing short of a miracle, and she still isn’t sure that she won’t disappear from her sight at any given moment.   

“Here,” Weiss says, interrupting her thoughts. “I think you need a hand.”

Yang looks up to find Weiss extending a hand – _her_ hand – towards her, with a small smile on her face. She blinks twice and rubs her eyes to make sure she isn’t _dreaming_. Because Weiss almost _died_ , and now she’s making _puns_. And Yang isn’t quite sure that she _didn’t_ die and become an angel, because she certainly shines brightly enough, and her smile makes her beautiful enough to be one.

“Yang?” she asks, her smile fading, when Yang continues to stare at her in disbelief. “Hey, it wasn’t _that_ bad, was it?”

Yang’s eyes fill with tears and she lets out a watery laugh. “No… no, it was perfect.” She almost adds, _like you_ , but she bites her tongue, because now is not the time nor place to talk about her growing not-so-platonic feelings for the other girl. She reaches up and grabs onto the mechanical arm, giving it a sharp tug.

“Wha –” Weiss, who didn’t have time to let go, loses her balance and tumbles forward.

Yang easily catches her before she hits the ground and pulls her into a tight hug. She buries her face into the other girl’s shoulder. “I’m just really, _really_ glad you’re alive,” she mumbles, her voice muffled.

Weiss’s gaze softens and she relaxes into the embrace, slipping an arm around Yang to return the hug. “We’re okay. We’re all okay,” she murmurs as she tries to keep her voice from breaking – she forces down the residual fear, because somebody has to be strong, and Yang looks like she is on the brink of breaking down.

Yang sniffles quietly and swallows the lump that had formed in her throat. She doesn’t think she’s ever been that scared in her life – not when she saw Adam run a blade through Blake’s stomach, not when she woke up in bed in Patch with her right arm missing, not even when she found out her mother was capable of killing a defenseless girl – because she can probably live with all of that, but she thinks she might _die_ if Weiss doesn’t make it.  

“Please don’t do that to me again, Weiss,” she mumbles into her shoulder. “I can’t – I can’t lose you. Not like that.”  

Though the memory of it is disjointed and faded, like it had happened a long time ago, she can clearly remember the fear, the feeling of cold dread that washed through her as she watched the weapon slowly fading. She trembles a little and tightens her hold around Yang’s waist to steady herself, and to reassure herself that this is very much _real._ She opens her mouth to say something – anything – to reassure Yang that she is here to stay, that she would never leave her like that – but her throat closes up and nothing comes out.  

Yang pulls away from the hug when she feels Weiss shaking in her arms, but she keeps a tight hold on Weiss’s arm, because she still isn’t sure that Weiss isn’t an illusion that will shatter to dust if she lets go.

“Weiss? Are you okay, though?” she asks, her voice shaky.

“I – I’m fine,” Weiss says, a little breathily. “Jaune healed me, I’m fine.”  

Yang shakes her head and she reaches down to run her hand gently along Weiss’s stomach, where there would have been a scar, had it not been for Jaune’s semblance. Yang thinks it’s a little unfair, because it looks too normal, like nothing had happened, but Weiss must have been terrified. She was probably _still_ terrified. “No, I mean – I know your wound is fine, but that’s not what I meant. You almost _died_ , Weiss.”

“But I _didn’t_ – they’re gone, and I’m still standing here. Isn’t that all that matters?” She tilts her chin up in defiance, despite the crack in her voice.

“It’s okay if you’re not okay,” Yang says quietly, and Weiss flinches at the familiarity of the words.

“I’m really fine,” Weiss says as she gets to her feet unsteadily, pulling Yang up with her. “We’re all safe, and we’re finally all together again. How could I possibly _not_ be okay? As long as I have you guys, I’ll be fine.” She takes Yang’s hand and gives her a reassuring smile that does nothing to assuage her fears.

Yang frowns, but doesn’t press the matter, because she _knows_ that it’s a difficult thing to talk about, and that Weiss is going to need time to herself to process what’s really happened, and to accept the fact that she almost _died_ , before she is really ready to talk to somebody else about it. So instead, she squeezes Weiss’s hand gently. “I can promise you that you’ll _always_ have us, Weiss. And I’ll be here for you when you’re ready to talk.”

Weiss gives her a soft smile – the softest she’s ever seen on the other girl’s face – and she doesn’t think she’s ever seen anything so beautiful in her life. It makes her want to lean over and kiss her, but she refrains, because _time and place_.  

“Thank you, Yang.”

* * *

 

Blake raises an eyebrow at Sun and gestures towards the door. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

He reaches up, his hand curled into a fist, but then lets it fall back down. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Do you think they’ll be mad at me for leaving them?”

She blinks in surprise – this is not a side of Sun that she’s seen before. He had always been so laidback and sure of himself. “Of course they won’t, Sun. They’re your friends, and they’ll love you no matter how many stupid decisions you make. If my teammates could accept me for running away the way that I did, I think your teammates can accept you for going off to protect a friend.” He exhales nervously and hesitantly raps his knuckles against the door.

The door swings open to reveal Sage’s hulking form. His eyes widen and he freezes for a fraction of a second as he takes in the sight of Sun on his doorstep, a nervous smile on his face. And then he reaches over and punches Sun square in the jaw.

Sun clamps his hand over his jaw, where he’s sure there will be a bruise later, and his eyes widen in shock. “Hey!” he exclaims. “What the hell, Sage!”

“No note, no phone calls, nothing! For the past five months, we haven’t heard from you _once_. The last time we spoke to you, you told us you were helping Blake go after the White Fang! We had no idea if you were still alive! Would it have killed you to at least write a letter or something so we knew you were okay?” Sage thunders.

Blake winces at his angry tone and takes a step back. “Hey, Sage,” she says in an attempt to redirect his anger – after all, it’s _her_ fault that Sun never made it back to his teammates in Mistral.

“Blake,” Sage says, the anger disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. He blinks like he doesn’t believe she is standing there.

“I – ” She starts.

Sage reaches over and pulls her into a tight hug, cutting off whatever she was going to say. “I didn’t think we would ever see you again.”

Blake feels the guilt pooling in her stomach – the guilt that has been festering in her mind since she left Beacon, the guilt that has grown exponentially since Sun had talked some sense into her – and she feels herself shrinking in on herself. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles into his chest. She buries her face into his shoulder – she had forgotten how comforting Sage’s calm presence could be.

“I’m not mad at _you_ ,” he rumbles. “I’m sure you had your reasons for leaving.”

“Hey!” Sun complains. “How come she gets a free pass while I get a punch in the face?”

Sage releases Blake, and turns to glare at Sun. “She’s not our teammate, Sun, and she can take care of herself.”

“Why are you yelling, Sage?” Neptune ducks under Sage’s arm, with Scarlet in tow, to see what the commotion is about, and stares disbelievingly at Blake and Sun. And then he reaches over and punches Sun in the shoulder.

“What the hell, Nep!” he yelps, trying futilely to block the onslaught of punches raining down on him. “I hate you guys so much!”

“I have half a mind to stab you for leaving us hanging like that!” The punches die off and the relief in the air is palpable. “You said you were going to catch up! It shouldn’t take _five months_ to catch up! You could have been dying in an abandoned alleyway for all we knew!”

Blake freezes at Neptune’s words, because even though she knows he’s only kidding, she can’t get the image of Sun’s unconscious body out of her mind, and she shivers at the memory.

Sun takes her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, I’m fine,” he says.

This doesn’t go unnoticed by Neptune, and he exchanges a worried look with Sage. “Blake? What’s wrong?” he asks.

Sun reaches up with his other hand and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s kind of a long story,” he mumbles. One that he had been hoping he wouldn’t have to recount to his friends, because he’s sure they’re worried enough about him without knowing that he almost died.

“Well, you can tell us all about it over dinner,” Scarlet says stoutly. “And I swear to dust, Sun, if you ran off for five months to court Blake and didn’t tell us anything, I will _murder_ you.” He gestures towards their linked hands before turning back around and re-entering the house.

* * *

 

 “You almost _died?_ ” Neptune bursts out. He turns to Blake and jabs his chopsticks in Sun’s general direction. “See? _This_ is why we can never let him go off on his own – he doesn’t know what danger is! He needs a babysitter at all times.”

“Hey! That’s not true!” Sun interjects.

“It is,” Sage rumbles. “Remember that time when you thought it would be a good idea to take on a hoard boarbatusks by yourself instead of waking us up? And on our first mission, no less. You’re lucky we found you before you got mauled.”

“I had it under control!” Sun whines.

“Yea, because aura depletion and being pinned down by a boarbatusk constitutes having things ‘under control’,” Scarlet retorts sarcastically. “He’s a walking deathtrap.”

Sun grumbles incoherently, but says nothing to deny the fact.

“Did Sun ever tell you about the time that he ran across campus in his underwear – hey!” he snaps when a dumpling hits him square in the face. He wipes his face with his napkin and turns to level a glare in Sun’s direction. “Not cool, man.”

“Neither is telling Blake embarrassing stories about me,” he grumbles. He sulkily stuffs a dumpling into his mouth.

“He’s only mad because he _likes_ you, and I’m making him look bad,” Scarlet whispers to her as he nudges her with his elbow.

If Sun hears his teammate’s remark, he chooses to ignore it, and Blake is grateful, because while she’s aware that his feelings for her extend far beyond friendship, she doesn’t think it’s an appropriate time or place to be discussing it.

“Why was he running around in his underwear?” she asks, redirecting their attention away from Scarlet’s statement.

“Blake!” Sun whines half-heartedly. “Stop encouraging him.”

“Because he was dumb enough to think that dumping Neptune in the local swimming pool would somehow help him get over his aquaphobia,” Sage says, completely ignoring Sun, as he helps himself to more rice.

“I’m not afraid of water!” Neptune scowls.

“Sure, you’re not,” Scarlet says as he waves his hands dismissively. “Anyways, Neptune was _pissed_ and took his clothes while he was still in the pool –”

“One of these days, I’ll get you back,” Sun grumbles.

“At least I left your underwear – I could have just as easily taken everything and let you run around _naked_.”

“Here, we have pictures,” Scarlet says, effectively cutting them off before they can start a full-blown argument. He pulls his scroll out of his pocket.

“ _Scarlet_!” Sun howls, his face reddening. He picks up another dumpling and flings it across the table at his teammate. “Shut _up_.”

This time, Scarlet is ready and he easily dodges. “I mean, it’s not much different from what he usually wears,” he continues as if having dumplings thrown at him was a regular occurrence. He gestures towards Sun’s unbuttoned shirt, and then winks at Blake. “I doubt you mind though, am I right?”

Blake flushes, because she would be lying through her teeth if she said she hadn’t caught herself staring at Sun’s abs on a few different occasions. She opens her mouth to give a response, but another dumpling hits Scarlet in the face before she has the chance.

“ _Stop_ that!” Scarlet growls, turning to glare in Sun’s direction. He gets out of his seat, picks up his bowl of rice and throws it at Sun.

“I present to you, Team SSSN, the future protectors of Remnant,” Sage sighs. He takes Scarlet’s seat and continues to calmly eat his dinner. 

“Um…shouldn’t we stop them?” Blake asks apprehensively as she watches Neptune pour a cup of tea down the back of Sun’s shirt.

“You _know_ there’s no stopping those idiots once they get started.” He gives her a sidelong glance, observing quietly as Blake watches his team’s antics with a fond, nostalgic smile on her face. “Well, they may be idiots, but they’re still our idiots.”

His words seem to break her out of her reverie, and she turns back to him, her smile still in place. “Yes,” she agrees, “they are.”

“We really are glad that the two of you are okay.” He holds up a hand to stop her when she opens her mouth to apologize. “Don’t apologize, Blake. We get why you left, and we were okay with Sun following you. And at the end of the day, all that matters is that you two are here, and you’re safe.”

Blake breathes a sigh of relief. She hadn’t realized how worried she was about Team SSSN’s reaction to her leaving or her coming back – after all, she was more worried about her _own_ team – but hearing Sage say that, seeing how open and friendly the team still is with her, feels like a heavy weight being lifted off her chest. “I’m glad to see that nothing has changed. I think it’ll be good for him to be back with his team for a while. Maybe get away from all the fighting.”

“What do you mean?” he asks. He retains his calm demeanour, but his voice is surprised.

“I – I haven’t told Sun yet, but… we’re going to Atlas. As soon as we’re recovered.”

“And you don’t want to bring him with you?” he guesses.

“It’s not that I don’t _want_ him to come along, but…” she bites her lip and glances back at the laughing trio. “I – I don’t want to take him away from his friends again, and I can’t risk him getting hurt because of me.”  

“You know he’ll never let you go off on your own, right? And you’re probably going to need all the help you can get.”

She frowns, because while she knows that he is right, she desperately wants to keep Sun away from Adam and Salem, and whatever other harm might befall him if he goes with her.

“Where are we going?” Sun asks, bounding back to his seat, followed by the rest of Team SSSN.

Sage gives her a very pointed look and she heaves a defeated sigh. “Atlas,” she mutters through gritted teeth. “We’re going to Atlas.”

“Well we’re coming with you guys this time, because there’s no way we’re letting you guys run off by yourselves again. Not after _this_ guy –” Scarlet jerks his thumb in Sun’s general direction, “—almost died. He clearly needs some form of adult supervision at all times.”

“Yes,” Sage murmurs, a note of finality in his tone. “We have to make sure the idiot doesn’t get himself killed.”

And despite Sun’s grumbling and complaints, she doesn’t miss the bright smile that appears on his face. He might not show it, but he’s definitely missed his team.

* * *

 

Blake looks up in surprise when Yang takes a seat across the table from her. She isn’t sure how Yang managed to find her in the first place, since she’s at a small hole-in-the-wall kind of café that would be difficult to find if somebody wasn’t specifically looking for it. And she _knows_ it’s not the kind of place that Yang would be looking for.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she says, her voice casual as she signals the waiter over and orders a coffee. “Sun told me you’d be here.”

“Of course he did,” she mutters. She closes the book she’d been reading and shifts in her seat so she’s fully facing Yang. It’s the first time that she’s been alone with Yang since the fall of Beacon – since she ran away – and she’s not sure what to expect. But Yang doesn’t look angry, or even upset; there’s a calmness that Blake rarely ever sees in her.

She’s thought about it – what to say when she sees Yang again, that is. She has a whole _script_ written in her head of what she wants to say, how she wants to apologize, but she can’t bring herself to _say_ any of it, because if there is one thing that Yang wouldn’t want, it’s a scripted apology. Instead, the words “I’m sorry” tumble out of her mouth before she can stop them.

“Why did you do it?” she asks. Her hand trembles, and she tightens her grip on her coffee mug. “Why did you leave? Ruby, Weiss – we were all here for you. Nobody blamed you for what happened – you didn’t have to run away from us.”

She had confessed her fears to Sun – that her friends would hate her for leaving, that they wouldn’t take her back when she returned, or worse, that they hadn’t _cared_ at all that she left. And he had assured her that that could never be true, because her friends loved her, and he had said it in that reassuring, genuine way of his that somehow always makes her think that he might actually be right. But now, as she stares at the forlorn look on Yang’s face, she isn’t so sure.

Blake looks down in shame and stares at her own reflection as it ripples on the surface of her tea. She thinks of how fragile a relationship can be – one wrong move and the whole thing can shatter. But then she thinks of how resilient her faith and trust in Adam had been, how many wrong moves he had made, and how many times she had forgiven him before she had finally had enough. And while she hopes that Yang isn’t as blind or naïve as she was back then, she hopes she will at least give her a second chance.

She finally looks up and Yang falters at the sheer desperation in her expression. “It didn’t matter that you guys didn’t blame me,” she says haltingly. “I blamed myself – it _was_ my fault. He promised – he said he would take away everything I cared about. And I’ve known him long enough to know that he isn’t one for idle threats. You’ve seen what he’s capable of – he won’t stop at anything to kill you all.”

“And you think you could take him on all by yourself? He sliced through my arm like it was nothing – he would _destroy_ you.”

“You think I didn’t know that when I ran? Of course I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I spent most of my life by his side – I _know_ how powerful he is. I wasn’t planning to go after Adam, and if he came after me, then at the very least, I knew you guys would be safe. You, Ruby and Weiss are important to me. I wasn’t expecting to make friends when I came to Beacon, but somehow, the three of you became some of the most important people in my life, and I… I couldn’t stand the thought of any of you getting hurt. _Especially_ because of me.”

“We can take care of ourselves, Blake! We aren’t children, and we’re well aware of the risks that we’re taking. Did you really think we would love you any less because of something that somebody else did?”

“I know,” Blake whispers, tears filling her eyes, “I _know_ that. But you got hurt! If it wasn’t for my relationship with Adam, you would have been fine. I – I felt so scared and guilty, and I didn’t know what to _do_ , so I did what I do best – I ran!”

“But you came back. I mean, I’m glad you did, but Adam is still out there, and like you said, he _won’t_ stop. So why did you come back?”

“It was Sun. He made me realize that I wasn’t doing you guys any favours by running away; he made me realize that you guys are _with_ me because you want to be, regardless of how dangerous or risky that might be.”  

“That boy is a lot less stupid than people give him credit for,” Yang says, giving her a small smile – a peace offering of sorts.

She breathes a soft sigh of relief. She had been expecting a lot of yelling and screaming, or at least the cold shoulder, but Yang seems to have pretty much forgiven her completely. “You are taking this far better than I was expecting,” she admits.

“It’s been a long time,” she says. “I won’t lie to you and say that I was never mad – I _was_ really angry for a really long time. You _left,_ Blake. You left when I was at my most vulnerable; you left, _knowing_ that I’ve always had issues with being left behind.” She curls her hand into a fist and takes a steadying breath – it wouldn’t do to get riled up now. “You left without any explanation, without a goodbye, and it was just… all too familiar to me.

“I didn’t understand it then; maybe I was too upset to bother trying to understand why you left – it was easier just to blame you. But it’s been five months, and that’s a long time for me to think about it. And Weiss – Weiss helped. She helped me really understand why you did what you did. And even though I don’t completely agree with your way of thinking, I get it.”

“I _am_ sorry,” she offers quietly. “I honestly didn’t care what you guys would think of me for running away. Well, I did care, but it didn’t matter – all that mattered was that you guys were safe.”  

“Well, like Ruby said, what matters now is that we’re all together. Just don’t do it again.” She sends a glare in Blake’s direction, but softens it with a smile, so that she knows she’s not really angry.

Blake relaxes a little in her seat and returns the smile with one of her own. “I won’t. Thank you…for understanding.”

“You have Weiss to thank for that,” Yang says. “Otherwise you would have had to do a _lot_ more grovelling to get me to forgive you.”

Blake takes a sip of her tea. “You and Weiss?” she asks after a small pause.

Yang feigns ignorance and gives her a questioning look. “What about me and Weiss?” she asks.

She rolls her eyes and gives her a small smile. “You two certainly seem to be a lot closer than I remember – I mean, we all saw the hug that you gave her.”

“I guess. I mean, I think after being apart for so long, we all just need some time together.”

“You didn’t hug anybody else like that,” Blake points out, her eyes twinkling.

“And _you_ definitely joke more than you did before. Which I guess isn’t saying very much, because you didn’t joke much before – or at all.” Yang smirks at her. “Was that Sun’s influence?”  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she retorts. She looks away, hoping that Yang doesn’t see the redness creeping up her cheeks.

Yang grins. “What? Don’t tease me about Weiss if you can’t take the heat yourself.”

Blake mumbles something incoherent under her breath. She misses this – she hadn’t realized it while she was in Menagerie, but she misses Yang’s familiar banter, and she’s glad that amidst all the chaos and destruction, she hasn’t lost the carefree part of her personality. She reaches over and takes Yang’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “I’ve missed you guys a lot,” she admits. “I’ve missed my best friend too.”

She could have easily laughed or made a joke, and played off how much she actually missed Blake in the five months that they were apart, but she doesn’t. Instead, she smiles and says, “I’ve missed you too,” and it’s like the tension, and the five months apart disappear, and they’re just two best friends catching up at a café without a care in the world.

* * *

 

If Yang had to describe Weiss in one word, it would be _graceful_. Even when she fights, she looks like she’s dancing, and her sword is and just an extension of herself. The way she jumps and twirls, hopping from one Glyph to another is mesmerizing, and Yang can’t tear her eyes away.

“She’s certainly learned a few new tricks,” Ruby muses as she watches Blake and Weiss spar. “I’ve never seen her summon anything before.”

Yang turns to her sister and grins. “You haven’t seen _anything_ yet. And your hand-to-hand combat has gotten a lot better. You handled yourself pretty well without Crescent Rose.”

“I learned that from Oscar,” she says proudly. “Well, I guess it was Professor Ozpin, but same difference.”

“You –” she cuts herself off and snaps her head back towards the battlefield when she hears a frightened scream. Her eyes widen in surprise at the sight of the boarbatusk, the rapier wasp, and the knight that Weiss had summoned. She didn’t think it was _possible_ for her to summon that many at once. She tears her eyes away from the Grimm to Weiss, and watches her draw up an ice wall, closing herself in, and sending Blake flying backwards.  

“Weiss?” she manages to get out, her voice tinged with panic. This time, she is the first one to break out of the shock that overcame the three of them, and she finds herself running towards Weiss without even thinking about it. “Weiss!” she yells as she bangs her fist against the unrelenting ice. “Weiss!”

“Get out of the way!” Ruby orders in such a commanding voice that Yang doesn’t even think of disobeying.

Yang turns around to find her sister wielding Crescent Rose, ready to fire towards the ice, and jumps out of the line of fire. “What happened?” she demands of Blake, even though she thinks she might already know the answer.

“I – I don’t know,” she says, sounding slightly disoriented. She pushes herself into a sitting position and rubs the back of her head. “We were just sparring, but then she started screaming. I think she said something about Cinder. She looked _terrified_ , Yang.”

The sound of the ice cracking pulls Yang’s attention away from their conversation, and she runs towards Weiss’s unconscious body. She releases the breath she’d been holding when she sees the steady rise and fall of Weiss’s chest. She gently lifts her from the debris and pulls her into a protective hug.

“Maybe we should bring her to Uncle Qrow,” Ruby suggests worriedly as she jogs over. “Or Professor Ozpin.”

“R-right,” Yang stutters as she clumsily tries to pick Weiss up, because her heart is still racing in her chest and her fingers are frozen with fear.

“I’ve got her,” Blake says gently. She reaches over to take the unconscious girl, but Yang, despite her trembling hands, keeps a tight grip on her. “Yang, you’re going to drop her.”

Reluctantly, she lets Blake take Weiss, but she keeps a hold of her hand the whole way into the hotel, where Ozpin and her uncle are talking.

“What the hell happened?” Uncle Qrow demands, jumping up from his seat on the couch when he sees Weiss, unconscious in Blake’s arms.

“Help her,” Yang pleads desperately, as if she didn’t hear the question. “Please, Uncle Qrow.”

Qrow curses under his breath as he takes Weiss from Blake. “You three, stay here. Oz and I will make sure she’s okay.” He doesn’t wait for any of them to say anything before he disappears into Weiss and Blake’s hotel room.

She moves to follow, but Blake stops her with a hand on her shoulder. “Let them figure it out,” she says quietly. “There’s nothing you can do for her.” She sits down on the sofa and pulls Yang down with her. “Do you know what happened?”

 Yang leans over and buries her face in her hands as she tries to swallow the fear that is building up in her throat. “I have a pretty good idea. I think she saw Cinder,” she says after a short pause.

“Cinder?”

She looks up and rubs her eyes tiredly. “Yea. Weiss – she almost died. During the battle. Cinder almost killed her. She – she wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for Jaune.”

“Oh.” Blake frowns at her hands, wondering if something she did during their spar triggered Weiss. “I – I had no idea.”

Yang feels the old anger flaring up again, because Blake _should_ have been there to help Weiss, and if she had been, maybe Weiss would have been okay. There’s a small, rational part of her that’s telling her she’s being unfair, but unable to stop herself, her eyes flash red and she lashes out, “You would have known if you hadn’t left us. You could have been there for her.”

Blake falters, because this is the first time that Yang has shown any anger towards her for running, and she flinches at the harsh tone, guilt gnawing at her conscience. She has to remind herself that Yang’s anger stems mostly from her panic at seeing Weiss’s unconscious form, and not (she hopes) resentment towards her, even if she would be justified in her anger.

She sighs, her eyes slowly fading back to lavender. “I’m sorry,” she says, sounding regretful. “I – I don’t mean that. I’m just worried. She _just_ recovered from having almost died, and seeing her unconscious again is just a little much right now.”

Blake shakes her head. “It’s fine. I get it, you’re scared. She’s strong, Yang. She’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so, Blake. I really hope so.”

* * *

 

Weiss feels like she’s falling. She reaches a hand out, but there is nothing but the expanse of blackness that surrounds her.  She opens her mouth to scream, but nothing comes out, and it feels like the blackness is closing in around her, drowning her in nothingness, and she’s suffocating.

She bolts upright in bed, gasping for breath. She hunches forward and draws in a few deep breaths, trying to steady her beating heart. Squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling, she lets a quiet sob escape, and her shoulders tremble. Dreams were supposed to fade, but the feeling of darkness pulling her down, suffocating her, and the lack of air in her lungs still feels so _real._

“—eiss. Weiss. _Weiss_!”

Somebody tries to wrap an arm around her shoulder, and panic sets in. She weakly shoves them away, and instinctively reaches for Myrtenaster. But it isn’t there. So instead, she blindly throws a punch. But she was never one for hand-to-hand combat, and they easily catch her fist, gently uncurling her fingers and slipping their hand in hers to give her a reassuring squeeze. Only then does her vision start to clear, and she finds Yang sitting in a chair next to her bed, a concerned expression on her face.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re okay, I got you.” She takes a seat on the bed next to Weiss and pulls her into a hug and cradles her head with her other hand, gently smoothing her hair down.

Weiss rests her chin on Yang’s shoulder and stares unseeingly at the wall in front of her, as Yang whispers comforting words into her ear. The tears slide silently down her cheeks and land on Yang’s shoulder, forming a wet splotch on her shirt.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Yang asks quietly. She _wants_ to give her space to recover. She _wants_ to give her room to breathe and think. But there just isn’t _time_ for that.

“I don’t know,” Weiss whispers, her voice hoarse. “I think I just need to rest.”

“Bullshit!” Yang says, a steely edge to her voice. She pulls away from the hug so that she can look the other girl in the eyes. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You didn’t completely lose control of your Semblance because you weren’t sleeping enough. Stop pretending like everything is okay! You’re _not_ okay, and if you keep suppressing everything the way that you’re doing right now, you’re never going to be okay! Damn it, Weiss, you are one of the most important people in my life, and I can’t bear to see you get hurt! So _please_. Talk to me! It’s killing me to see you hurting like this!”

“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” she repeats over and over. But there’s an undertone of desperation, and she’s not sure if she’s trying to convince Yang or herself.

“No, you’re not! And it’s okay that you’re not, but _don’t_ push us out! We want to help you, and you’re not letting us.”

“I don’t _need_ your help – I just need some time to myself! Why can’t you leave me _alone_?!”

“Because I love you, okay? I love you and I don’t want to – I can’t – watch you die again.” 

“But I – what?” Weiss stutters, her sentence coming to a halt as Yang’s words finally sink in. 

“I _love_ you, Weiss” she says, her voice softening, and the anger melting off her face. She tenderly cups Weiss’s face with both her hands. “I love you. So please, stop shutting us out. If not for yourself, then for the people who care for you. For the people who don’t want to see you get hurt. For _me_.”

Weiss leans into her hands and closes her eyes, and she sags against Yang. And it’s like the barrier – the walls that she surrounded herself with – is finally breaking, because while she’s a _Schnee_ , with a heart of ice, and blood that runs blue, she’s also _Weiss_ , fragile and broken, with so much love that she doesn’t know what to do with it. And she can’t, _won’t_ , keep hiding behind the mask of a cold, unfeeling Schnee, because she is Weiss first, and a Schnee second.  

“It’s just – it’s all just too much to handle,” she murmurs, her bottom lip quavering. “I – I really thought I was okay. Everything was fine – until today.”

Yang waits quietly, patiently, for her to continue, because this moment seems so fragile, like glass, and it might shatter if she opens her mouth.

“I thought… I thought it was her. When Blake threw Gambol Shroud at me, I saw her, and I – I panicked. I don’t remember much else after that,” she admits in a soft whisper. “What happened?”

“You collapsed, Weiss,” Yang says quietly. “Uncle Qrow said that your Aura was depleted. Not surprising, considering how you summoned three things at once _and_ erected an ice barrier. We thought you were going to be out for much longer. We pushed the departure back a few days to let you recuperate.”

Weiss exhales slowly. “How – how can I fight with you guys when I’m like this? I – I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re _not_ a burden, Weiss – you’re never going to be a burden. You _will_ be fine – I promise it gets better, but it won’t happen overnight. What you need right now is _rest._ You’re exhausted, Weiss, mentally _and_ physically exhausted.”  

“I can’t – there’s no time for that!” She goes to stand up, but Yang grabs her wrist, keeping her in place.  

She leans over and presses her lips against Weiss’s, and there’s the sweet taste of vanilla mixed with the saltiness of the tears sliding down Weiss’s face, and there’s something sweet and sad and melancholic about the kiss.

Weiss leans into the kiss, returning it with a touch of desperation, because it still feels like a dream to her, and she wants so badly for it to be _real_. She pulls away slowly and stares at Yang’s tired face.

“ _Rest_ , Weiss. Please,” she pleads. She gently pushes her back into bed.

Weiss hesitates, wondering to herself if she’ll be overstepping her boundaries, and _really_ unsure of what to say. “Uh…” she shifts over to give Yang space. “Stay with me,” she blurts out, and it comes out sounding more like a question than a demand, which was what she intended (because she was never taught to _ask_ for something). She flushes at how awkward she must have sounded. “Only if you want to,” she adds in a rushed voice when Yang just stares at her with wide eyes.

She starts panicking, although she tries not to let it show, because maybe she _is_ overstepping. She doesn’t know what affection looks like, because her parents have never been affectionate with each other, and her sister – she _cares_ , of course she cares, but she’s far from affectionate. But Weiss _wants_ the affection – she wants to feel Yang’s warmth against her skin, she wants to feel Yang’s arms around her making her feel safe, she wants to be so close to Yang that she can feel her heart beating and hear her breathing. _Weak,_ she can hear her father telling her. ‘ _Affection will only make you weak._ ’ But that can’t be right, because Yang is the warmest, most loving person that she knows, and she’s also one of the strongest.

She opens her mouth to take back her request, to apologize for making assumptions, but Yang smiles, and she feels like she forgot how to talk.

Yang crawls under the blanket next to her and envelopes her into a hug. “Anything for you.”  She kisses the top of Weiss’s head. “Now, _please_ go to sleep.”

Weiss gives a watery laugh and curls into Yang and finally lets her eyelids shut. This time, no nightmares plague her dreams.  

**Author's Note:**

> Awkward ending is awkward. I don't even know what this crap is anymore.


End file.
